Student start-ups tested in Silicon Valley

A new social network, a portable device to control maturing wine, and a news aggregator for today’s biggest trends are among the business ideas devised by students from Université Paris-Saclay currently being tested in Silicon Valley.

Eight teams have flown to San Francisco to compete in the university’s Start-up Challenge designed to support young entrepreneurs.

The 18 students, in teams of 2 or 3, have spent three weeks working on their business ideas, taking part in thematic workshops, sharing best practices, and being mentored by innovation experts and seasoned entrepreneurs. They have pitched their ideas to the challenge’s panel of experts.

It’s a real-life scenario for teams who want to turn an idea into a business.

“Great students are choosing entrepreneurship for their projects within their university courses, and they’re finding real world impacts,” says Yann Gozlan, Chairman of incubator Creative Valley and of the Start-up Challenge panel.

Finalists include; social network Guys Up connecting individuals, associations, and businesses to address a community challenge, news aggregator Nyus that allows a user to track a specific topic, portable device True Spirit allowing instant control of the quality of wine as it matures, and Energysquare, a new electronic charging device.

All teams are current students of Université Paris-Saclay, an institution established by 19 of France’s biggest names in science, engineering, business and humanities.